(2018-10-25) He Is Coming! (KCC1 Office Party)
A Halloween party goes wrong, (or right if you hate the media >.>) when a bomber appears!

Katherine is standing near a drink cart, a bright white bandage on her left arm. She is chatting quietly with Charlotte, her new assistant. People are streaming in, grips, producers, make up, and so many more. The party is getting underway. Food is circulating, lofted on fancy silver trays by men and women wearing KCC1-TV t-shirts. Drinks are flowing, and there are a few people on camera, speaking about their experience working at the station so far. The party seems to be bumping, people seem to be happy, it's a good atmosphere.

Edgar cleans up pretty well, it turns out. He's got on a tailored suit that covers most of his tats. He looks a little lost, though, taking it all in from the sidelines with a glass of wine in hand. He smiles at Katherine when he sees her, a much-appreciated famliar face.

There's a small contingent of players from the UCC football team that got the invite. Probably four dudes, all wearing dress shirts and slacks. One of them is so young that he's been given a bright orange wristband, indicating that he is forbade from the good stuff. Grumbling and tugging at the bracelet, Everett separates from his teammates and begins making his way around the crowd, wide-eyed and amazed at the offices and studio. He's never seen anything like it, coming from 'the hood.'

The hostess of the party is working the crowd - she can't help it. Heather is meeting, greeting, and professionally smiling as if she just won Miss Universe. Again. It seems no one got the memo about it being a Halloween costume party, and thankfully she was prevented from entering the room clad in a blue boiler suit with a Michael Myers mask on her head. She lives upstairs, so has changed into something more formal. The smile stuck to her face…until she sees a huge bandage on her morning television star. "Katherine? Have you hurt yourself?" A look to Charlotte of the 'what the fuck is this' kind.

Katherine wiggles her fingers at Edgar, flashing a brilliant smile in his direction. She stands to the side, drinking from her glass as she people watches. Then Heather shows up, looking like she might murder someone, specifically, her personal assistant. "No Heather." She peels the bandage back, showing off a tattoo. "I got a tattoo from a local businessman, isn't it pretty?" She asks, her eyes lighting up as she shoots a look at her boss.

Edgar raises his wineglass to Katherine. Then he takes a drink and casts the UCC players a sidelong glance. As Everett breaks away from the rest of them, Ed smiles at him. He inclines his head to Heather in passing. In a way, he is in a costume. He's dressed like a polished member of polite society. In the time he's been published, he's had to rub elbows with polite society before.

Having become something of a guinea pig for a new project of Heather's, Alison isn't a complete stranger to the station. Still, the excitement of hanging out here hasn't worn off. It's TV! Even the smaller local scale, it's a big deal- and a chance for her to get her message out to a bigger audience than her and her friends can manage putting up flyers around the University. So, party time! Except there's been a communication mix-up, and she's on the wrong side of it! And what's that Mean Girls Halloween rule? She's swapped from 'sexy animal' to 'sexy devil' this time around, but still. She walks in and immediately starts looking side-to-side with a look of panic. "Oh my god!"

While Katherine's eyes get lighter as she shows off the tattoo, Heather's gets noticeably darker. "You got a tattoo? Without asking me about it?" She is really keeping her anger in check. Or trying to. Her cheeks red as she glares at Charlotte before a long, deep breath. "Okay. You are aware, Katherine, that you are seen by thousands of people every morning, right? They look up to you as someone calm and supportive to bring them the new day. Not as a biker bitch ready to break into their homes. It's not eighth grade anymore." Another deep breath as she puts up her palms. "Sorry, we're being adults now. We can deal with this. I can deal with this." And then she sees Alison. If anything can make her feel better, it is Alison showing up in a devil costume. Heather starts to laugh, hopefully from humor rather than going insane. "Alison! Get over here!"

Katherine bursts out laughing at Heather's first question and she doesn't bother to hide it. "Heather, it's on the inside of my forearm, and I can wear sleeves if it's a problem." She takes a drink and then adds. "No, I didn't ask your permission to do something with my body." She glances at the tattoo and back at Heather, eyebrows lofting on her forehead. "You make it seem like I got a skull and crossbones and , die bitch die, tattooed on my arm. It's a mandala." She watches Heather crack, and in the evil corner of her mind, she's pleased. Adult Kate just drinks from her glass and sighs, dramatically.

Speaking of adults doing adult things, here comes Julian trudging through the office looking somewhat lost - that is, until he finally spots the gathering of people. It would be a pretty safe bet to assume Julian is most likely in his uniform. But tonight, it's not his ranger uniform that the man is adorning. Julian is decked out in a fully pimped out set of Stormtrooper armor, complete with all the slightest details. And it's not the cheap shit either, he probably spent a cool couple thousand dollars on it. With the helmet tucked under his arm, he stops somewhat outside the 'bubble' that the partygoers have formed.

"I though this was a Halloween party." Julian observes, sweeping his eyes through the crowd until he spots Katherine. He shoulders his custom painted DC-15S trooper blaster and holds his hands out in a 'what gives?' gesture to the brunette.

Nodding to Edgar when a smile is offered in his direction, Everett continues to stare around like a deer in the headlights. And then Alison walks in wearing a devil's costume and looking out of place. Recognizing her from campus and seeing the look of terror on her face, Everett swoops in to play hero, saying loudly enough that other people could easily hear it, "I /told/ you nobody would remember Bedazzled." He then offers her his arm like he was her date and they were supposed to be in costume. He /was/ wearing a similar outfit to what Brendan Fraser wore on the cover, anyway. Maybe /someone/ would fall for it?

With a group of friends all taking advantage the special 'no one gets to call anyone a slut' pact that is Halloween, Alison wouldn't think twice about it or feel remotely self-conscious. But here she suddenly sticks out like a sore thumb, and it breaks that 'herd immunity' feeling. She turns a bit red. Well, ok, her outfit's already red. The rest of her! Scurrying over to Heather, she's still a bit wide-eyed. "Ms. McCormack, I thought we were supposed to-" She's just about in mid panic when Everett arrives beside her, though given that she stares at him blinking for a moment, the reference isn't the freshest "Huh?" Blinkblink. "Oh, oh, uh… right?" Also a Stormtrooper walks by, so there's THAT. Still, she stands there a moment, looking uncertain, before reaching for Everett's arm. "I guess we should get snacks or something?"

Katherine squints at Julian in his costume, a surprised look on her face. She picks up a second drink and walks it over to him, chuckling softly. "You clean up nice. Stormtrooper." She hands off the drink and turns to eye Heather. "If I would have come in a costume it probably wouldn't have been appropriate for the party, so I headed off that argument by dressing normally." She pulls him toward the bar and food set up. "Want me to introduce you to people, or do you want to just lurk around like you might shoot someone?"

Edgar glances down at himself in his suit, then up at Alison, then the stormtrooper. That gets a grin from him. Who doesn't love stormtroopers? He slowly works his way through his glass of wine, then replaces the empty glass with another full one courtesy a passing tray of drinks. He makes a mental note to pace himself. With his luck, the second he got soused would be the second someone would want an interview.

Looking around, Everett grimaces and shrugs his shoulders up. "Yeah, if you want," he responds. Then, he leans in and whispers, "Sorry, I just didn't want you to feel embarrassed and that was the first movie that came to mind. … you rather I just bail and leave you be? Don't wanna make you uncomfortable or nothin'."

At first, Julian maintains the stern look that crinkles the bridge of his nose. But in the face of his plus one, he quickly gives in - particularly when the compliments come in. He straightens, offering up a half smile as he looks down at himself. He's clean shaven as well, normally sporting at the very least a five o' clock shadow.

"Nothing wrong with inappropriate. It's the one day a year you can dress like a slut and no one will judge you." He nudges Katherine playfully with his armored elbow, then glances around as she questions him. "As tempting as that sounds, maybe it's better if you just introduce me to people." Pause. "Helmet or no helmet?" The last asked with a boyish grin - the kind of look that is a stark reminder of his youth.

"Helmet, of fucking course." Katherine murmurs, pulling Julian by the elbow toward a crowd of people. "Hey all, this is one of my best friends. Julian Walker, he's a ranger and apparently a stormtrooper!" She smiles at Edgar, her voice pitching lower for a moment. "Having fun? I'm looking forward to an interview, don't let anyone else snag you for you." She teases, pointing at him with a half grin on her face. "Heather, You remember Julian, don't you?"

"Please, call me Heather" she smiles to the anxious Alison. "You look awesome, it's all good. Miscommunication." There's an Everett to rescue her so she will let them at it. Heather stares at the stormtrooper. "Sky Dorker?" Who else could it be? A nod to Katherine as the tattooed hostess wanders off. To no one in particular, Heather asks, "What's a mandala?" There must be some drinks around here, so she is off to find them.

Calvin wouldn't be a celebrity if he wasn't fashionably late and some habits are hard to break. Calvin comes alone. He's wearing a wool camel colored suit with a polo shirt. He adds retro Adidas sweatbands, Oxblood loafers and aviator shades. Richie Tenenbaum. That is a deep cut of a hipster costume. It has to be on purpose. He also has a guitar case on his shoulder. He catches a waitress and asks. "Hey, do you have an office that's locked? I gotta put this somewhere safe."

"Haha, no it's OK, I think there was just uh… some kind of mix-up? Like they told me to dress up for this but…" Alison murmurs as she peers back around a bit, but it seems like at least a couple people are in on the spirit of things, and with Everett pretending, it sort of evens the odds. Perhaps that herd-immunity has been re-established. She flashes Heather a smile, too. "Thanks so much for inviting me, either way! This is so cool." After that, she starts toward the food, waiting until they've gotten just a little distance before she lets on that she has no idea who her 'date' is! "So uh, do we have a class together or something?" she asks, mild embarrassment hidden under the more gigantic general embarrassment!

Edgar grins and tells Katherine, "It's a lot more mellow than the publishers' parties back in New York, and I mean that as a good thing." So much less coke, so fewer hookers to snort it off of. He inclines his head to Julian by way of greeting. "Hi, I'm Edgar," he says, "but you can call me rebel scum." When he spies Calvin, he waves to him. Then he asides to Katherine, "I promise, if anyone else asks for an interview, I'll pretend I don't even know who Knox Stevens is."

Kate beams at Edgar, nodding happily in his direction. She spots Calvin's arrival, and it takes a moment for her to place who he is, but then she leans toward Heather. "How many celebrities did you invite?" She asks before she swats the woman in the arm. "His name is Julian. Why would you say that in a crowd!"

"Oh, hell." Julian murmers to himself as Heather saunters toward them, if not the bouncy curls, her walk alone is enough for Jules to recognize her from a mile away. "That never gets old, Mack." Julian replies using the nickname he'd called her in highschool and offering a stiff smile. He accepts the offered drink from Katherine and quickly downs it, shooting her a look before he turns back to Heather. "So you gossip for a living now? And they -pay- you to do it? Color me impressed."

As Edgar approaches and greets him, Julian grins and offers the man a strong handshake. He starts to offer his name, but Katherine covers that base for him. He does lean closer to her and murmer into her ear, "-That- is Heather? She got kinda hot in an April O'Neil sort of way."

The waitress stares at Calvin and then just shrugs. They've only been hired for the event. "All the celebrities I could find" Heather asides to Katherine before an 'Ouch!" at the swat. "Have you been working out? I know his name. Julian Sky Dorker. And he did fill out nice." A wink to Katherine and Julian before Heather is next to Calvin in a trice. "Mister Shay. So glad you could come. I hope we can talk about some business opportunities later, but for now, please enjoy the party. Oh, I'm Heather McCormack. Station owner." Her phone buzzes and she takes a step back. "Excuse me." The text she reads makes her smirk…and then a sigh. "Our best reporter, Bianca Malice, is unable to attend the party tonight. Important work issues have come up." A pause. "I'll post bail in the morning."

"Oh wow, dang, that hurts," Everett replies, chuckling and smiling at Alison as they make their way to one of the food tables. "Man, here I been sittin' in back of the same class for like two months, and you ain't even recognize me?" he teases. He offers her a wink, though, and reaches for a plate. "But yeah, we got a class together. I'm Everett, but call me E. You're Alison, right?" He then gestures at the food table with his head. "Can I grab you anything? Or you want I should stop pretending to be your date? Your call."

Katherine narrows her eyes at Julian. "Hot? You called her hot? She called you a dork." She shakes his arm and laughs, shaking her head. "So much for you having my back. If you remind her of your nickname for me, I swear by all that is holy that I won't feed you for two months. Not a scone, cookie, nothing." She watches Heather circulate, a bit amused at how well she does it.

The broad, relatively tall Julian flinches as if Katherine were about to swat him, the motions of two people who are far too familiar with each other's mannerisms. He grins, shrugging helplessly. "Hey, just sayin'." He slips an armored arm over Katherine's shoulders and tugs her in for a half hug. "You know I got you, Kitty Leigh." His voice lowers to a murmer at that last part and his tone takes on a bit of a country twang. "Come on, let's grab a drink. Is it cool if I crash at your place? I intend to drink enough to make driving a bad idea. I have to head out to the canyon tomorrow anyway and it'd be great if I didn't have to drive an extra hour."

When Heather makes the remark to Katherine about his physique, Jules glances questioningly at Katherine. "What've you two harpies been sayin' about me, now?" But his studious look melts into a grin. "Oh! I have the whole voice thing installed into this helmet, by the way. I totally sound like a Stormtrooper with it on."

"Well, maybe it's because you're sitting in the back?" Alison proposes, still looking a little sheepish, although there's a pointedness to the last, breaking into a grin. Yes! On top of being a socially minded goody two-shoes she's a bit of a nerd, always sitting up in the front, so it's a plausible explanation. At the table, she looks it all over. "They have nicer stuff here than most parties at school, that's for sure. Well, unless it's some visitting lecturer. They tend to break out the nice cheese for them." A beat. "Alison. But no one calls me A." However, she does point out, "I think either way I can manage some cheese." She'll pick a few things off the table, and then continue on wherever the drinks are, while idly chatting. "So uh, how'd you end up invited to this thing? We're kinda the odd ones out, costumes or no."

Calvin grunts at the waitress before Heather distracts him. His face is hard to read behind the aviators but annoyance isn't out of the question. He never actually speaks to her and wanders towards Edgar when her phone pulls her away. He shifts the guitar on his shoulder since he's going to be carrying it. "Hey." He scans the area. "Nice party for a little station."

"Yeah, well. The other guys on the team all sit in back and I don't really know nobody else, so," Everett says with a shrug, following Alison along the table. "We get pretty decent grub at the cafeteria, I guess," he adds, shrugging. "All better 'n what we got in high school, anyways." He smiles some more as she begins picking food up, holding out the plate so she can fill it if she'd like. "And really, they asked the coach if the team would like to be represented and ain't none of the captains wanted to go. So, he sent a few of us freshman. 'Be a good experience, let you see what you're in for,' he said. So, here I am. Coach didn't say it was s'posed to be a costume party or nothin', but … I mean, it /is/ October, so I guess that woulda made sense, huh?"

Katherine relents as Julian gives her a hug, letting out a put upon sigh as he says the name. "I have an extra room you can crash in, sure." She squints and elbows Julian firmly in the ribs. "Harpies?!" She looks insulted and then grumbles softly, watching other people circulate and chat amongst themselves. "I'm gonna call you Sky Dorker." She decides, nodding firmly as she watches Julian pull his helmet on. "Oh god, my date is a Stormtrooper."

Heather pockets her phone before tracking down Calvin once more. "I can put that guitar somewhere safe if you want. Unless you'd like to do us a song or two." Never know until you ask, and why would he bring a guitar otherwise?

One of the waiters bumps into Edgar and grunts an apology. A man in his early twenties, he is sweating profusely as he carries around a tray with drinks. A tray that sways a little with each step he takes. He looks to have something else on his mind.

Edgar shakes Julian's hand and says, "It's a pleasure." Then Calvin is approaching, and Edgar offers him a broad smile. "Hey. Yeah, it's nice. I was really happy to get an invitation." He gestures around to the few costumed people. "If I'd known there were costumes, I would have come as a sexy sci-fi author. Luckily, I brought a suit with me from New York." With a glance to the guitar, he asks, "Are you going to serenade us?"

Edgar starts as he's bumped into, but then he says, "It's okay," to the apology. He watches him for a little bit, mostly out of curiosity.

"Oh, OK, I got it," Alison declares now, her expression just shy of full 'eureka!' "That makes sense, if you're in the class with all your friends. What team are you all on? Wait, stupid question, right?" She grins a bit more broadly. "I actually play too, or well. Not football obviously! Volleyball. Not really the same thing, I know, no one's sending out to meet the local TV news crew. But I've played since highschool." Which doesn't explain why she's here. "Get what you're in for, like, if you actually make it to the big leagues, you mean?" she wonders as they continue, meandering over to find some punch or whatever is up on offer! "Yeah, I think it was SUPPOSED to be a costume thing but maybe not everyone exactly got the memo. Have you met Ms. McCormack?"

"Uh…" Calvin blinks and blushes. "Oh, no no. I'm not g-going to per—perform." He stammers out. "This instrument is important and I didn't want to leave it in the truck. I came straight from the store." Starkweather Music. "If I could just put it somewhere it'll be locked away, I would feel a ton better, uh, Heather." The waiter than bumped into Edgar gets a look. "He might be getting sick."

"A thirsty stormtrooper." Speaking with the robotic monotone through the helmet of his Stormtrooper armor, Julian straightens and hooks his arm in an offer for Katherine's as he leads them through the party to the drinks. As he's making a beeline for the nearest server offering drinks, he takes one and another which he offers to his date. "I just realized that these helmets don't come with a straw placement or anything. Helmet or drink? Helmet or drink?" Pause. "Drink." And the helmet is removed, revealing the rugged and yet still boyish looks of the Julian underneath. "So, how's the girls doing? Still having…problems? It's going to be a pretty slow weekend with the early winter setting in, the three of you should come up and get some R&R."

As Alison talks a bunch, Everett just smiles, listening and continuing to follow her along the table as they make their way towards the punch. "Hey, volleyball can be a pretty intense sport. You guys gotta have just as good of teamwork," he chimes in. "And nah, I dunno 'bout makin' it big, but they do tend ta interview the seniors after games 'n stuff, if we do aight. And nah, I ain't met Miss McCormack." When they reach the punch table, Everett again puts on his Pretend Boyfriend act and sets the plate down, grabbing a cup and moving to fill it. "You want a full cup, or like half or somethin'?" he asks, turning to look back at Alison. Which is when he spots the dude who bumped into Edgar, who seems to be staggering a little, his eyebrow quirking up, indicating his trouble sensors have picked up on something.

Katherine follows Julian, taking the drink that's offered with a smile of thanks. "Can you even breathe in there?" She asks, standing on her tip toes to get a better look at the mask. When he removes it, she grins, until he asks questions. "Uh, things are okay." She clears her throat, avoiding his gaze and then. "Hey, Julian. I want you to meet Charlotte. She's my brand spanking new personal assistant." Charlotte is shy though, so she smiles at Julian, shifts on her feet and then scurries off to do…something." Kate frowns and then turns to eye Julian before she leans in to whisper something to him.

Julian chuckles, the beginning of which carries that really cool monotone of the voice receiver until he removes the helmet to sip his drink. "This thing could probably protect me from OC spray." He happily boasts, tucking it back under his arm. His blaster rifle is attached to a 3-point sling similar to the one he actually used in the military, so it doesn't require his hands as it sits comfortably across his chest. So with helmet in one hand, Jules puts back the drink in the other. "What is this watered down corporate booze Heather has going on?"

He turns as Charlotte is introduced to him and offers her an easy smile, "Hey there, Charlotte's Web." But the girl seems intent on other things so Julian just spares a shrug.

As Katherine leans in closer to whisper into his ear, Julian's visage evolves into a grimace and he shakes his head. "Oh, hell." It seems to be his trademark mantra these days. "Maybe I should have had you guys up sooner? She likes me, maybe she would have listened." He shrugs, taking a deep breath and exhaling heavily. "Well, bring her up. Seriously, Kitty. Sounds like ya'll could use a brain break."

"Yeah, I've always had a lot of fun with it. And the girls on the team are all pretty cool." Alison continues to chat pleasantly, nodding along as Everett explains the interviews and everything else that might go with the more high-profile sport. "Oh, you really should meet her. She's…" And here she pauses momentarily, trying to sort out how best to title the reporter-anchor-station owner. "Well, I guess she's sort of everything around here? But she's really nice. I met her at some other Halloween thing, where there was a bit of a fuss and then I got interviewed afterward. She thought I could do a segment on youth issues for the station." As for punch? "Hmm? Oh I'm not on a diet or anything." None too concerned over the punch, once she has it, she looks around to see where the above-mentioned reporter and more has gone, only to notice her faux-date peering over at the troubled-seeming man. She hadn't noticed, but tilts her head now.

Katherine smiles up at Julian, but she makes no promises at the moment, nodding at his offer. "I've got something to do this weekend, but yeah. I think we both could use a break, and it would be nice to catch up with you." She takes a drink from her glass, nearly emptying it. "Heather pulled this party together really quick, I'm pretty surprised. The station has only been open for a little bit now." She aims an impish look at Julian. "Have you been watching me in the mornings?"

Heather takes Calvin's guitar…carefully. "I'll lock it away in my apartment" she promises. "It will be totally safe." She heads off back to abode in the station as the party continues.

The sweaty server weaves through the crowd, eyeing off everyone with a wary gaze. He drops his tray, the metal clattering over the floor, before clambering onto the table. "The path must be cleansed!" he yells out over the chatter before ripping his jacket open to reveal what looks to be an explosive vest around his chest. His wild eyes taking everyone in as he pulls what looks to be a detonator from his pocket. "He is coming!" The young man's thumb hovering over a button that looks dangerously red.

Julian eyes Katherine curiously for a moment, eyebrow skeptically raised. "Since when are you busy on the weekend?" This is followed up with a devilish grin but the question about Katherine's new gig has Julian staring at her blankly. "What do you mean, through your window or something?" He actually seems quite taken off guard by the question and lets the confusion marinate for a moment as he gauges Katherine's reaction. He can't keep a straight face long and her smile is met with a snicker as he finally concedes. "Of course I-"

All of that is disrupted completely as the suicide bomber reveals himself. For Julian, this is a throwback to the war and the man falls into the muscle memory of training. He knows better than to believe that simply standing protectively in front of Katherine is going to save her or anyone else from the blast in this closed in area.

Rather than waste all that time trying to be chivalrous, Julian launches himself forward, intent on tackling the man and grappling for the detonator before the "server" even has a chance to react.

Awwwwww shit. This was NOT what Everett signed up for. Nor is it what he thinks his coach meant by preparing him for what was to come. Unless, of course, his coach meant the second coming. … but that's probably not it. "Get down!" Everett shouts, as he immediately tries to do two things. First and foremost, he tries to get Alison to his OTHER side, so he's between her and the 'bomb,' with one hand. Second, with his other hand, he'll try and up-end the punch table so that it will serve as a makeshift shield in case Julian's effort isn't successful. Regardless, in the seconds that follow, he'll do his best to shield Alison, whether it's behind the table or not. He's not Damon Wayans, and this ain't The Last Boy Scout.

Edgar says, "Great, that's just what I need. Ah well, I've had my flu shot." But then the waiter makes his announcement, and Edgar does his level best to drag Calvin down to the floor. "That's not the flu!" The problem with Ed's brave maneuver is that he's not a big guy. He's maybe 5'9" at most and thin. There's a better than average chance he'll just slam into Calvin and bounce off. But he's trying to be heroic. He's trying.

"Thank you, Heather." Calvin watches her leave and turns around just in time to see a mad bomber. "Hey, listen!" Calvin begins. His voice was excited but strong and confident. He was all ready to start the talking down process. But Edgar does drag Calvin to the floor, since Calvin isn't as sturdy as he looks. Now he watches in frozen terror as Julian goes for the hero dive.

Katherine shakes her head at Julian, her eyes squinted a bit. "I am going out this weekend, I need a break." She turns when Julian does, spotting the man with the bomb on him. She is already moving behind a table, anything that might put distance between her and the blast. Then Julian is rushing the man and she holds out a hand toward him. "Julian, what the fuck are you doing, get down!" She realizes that there are a lot of exposed people and she gestures to the table, the long metal table. "Get down!" She calls out again, trying to heed her own advice.

For a second, even seeing plainly what she sees, Alison doesn't actually take it seriously. It is, after all, a Halloween costume party (or it was supposed to be, dammit Heather!) 'Crazed suicide bomber' is…. potentially a costume? Maybe? "Hey, what's-" It's only *just* as she catches something in his tone that doesn't strike her quite right that everything ELSE goes crazy, and fast. People are jumping into action, even as she's processing. And this is for the best! Everett flips the table and pushes her back, and Alison goes with it. Volleyball does involve a lot of diving! So down she goes, for cover, curling up as she lands, only her saucy devil-tail hanging behind and a bit beyond that cover.

Julian flies through the air with the greatest of ease, slamming his amored body into the bomber. Both of them landing on the far side of the table, thudding into the ground. It must have been a jarring blow, for when Julian attempts to punch or restrain the man, it is a feeble attempt where he is lucky not to knock himself out. The bomber groans, reaching up to rub the back of his head where it impacted. At least that means his thumb is no longer hovering over the button. "His path must be purified!" he insists, his tone suggesting he is confused that the others don't agree with him. Why are they trying to stop him?

"Shorty, stay down, stay here," Everett offers to Alison, peeking up over the table. And, since the bomber ain't up there and ain't nobody dead, it's time for Everett to put his cape on. Jumping up, he'll smartly run around the table Alison's now protected behind and rush towards Julian and the bomber. Maybe all those fumble recovery drills will get put to good use now, as Everett searches for and hopefully manages to dive for the detonator to keep it safely away from the bomber.

"Sorry," Edgar tells Calvin as they hit the floor. "You can't compromise with crazy." He covers his head with his arms, and when there fails to be an explosion, he slowly looks up to see Julian, the would-be bomber, the detonator. It's one of those adrenalin things though, where everything is unfolding slowly, but at the same time too quickly for him to act.

Katherine peeks out from around the table, watching as the detonator skids out of the bomber's hand. She waits for something to explode, eyes narrowed as things remain relatively sane. "Grab the thing!" She calls out, and then watches as Everett tries to do just that. The bomber is trying to get to his feet, struggling and trying to find his hardware.

Everett slides across the floor, thank goodness there is no carpet, knocking the detonator further away from the bomber. He even manages to get a hand on - hopefully he doesn't press the button as he does so.

The bomber pushes himself up from the ground, looking around for his salvation. "No!!" he screams before grabbing a knife from the floor. "He is coming!" The knife is plunged into his own throat. It is a butter knife, so the going is tough, the first stab not penetrating but he refuses to give up.

Staying down is precisely Alison's plan. She's all for her causes, but heroic she is not! Once she's scrambled back to a crouching position from how she initially hit the ground, she only barely opened her mouth before Everett tells her to stay put. In these circumstances she can't even really object to the 'shorty' bit! He rushes out, and unsure what to do, she leans just a little to peer out from the table and then quickly ducks back, while digging around in… well, whatever place of mystery she hides her phone. Obviously, she does the sensible thing and starts calling the freaking police! "Oh my god, hello? Yeah we've got some kind of terrorist or something at the KCC1 TV station…"

Empathy is a thing, and when Katherine sees the bomber trying to end his life with a butter knife, she scoots forward to try to pull it out of his hands. "Stop. That." She grunts, her hand swinging back to slap him hard across the face. He releases the knife when Kate slaps him, and tie sudden movement knocks her backwards.

Well … he didn't grab it, but at least Everett got the detonator further away. That's good enough. Getting back to his feet, with the excitement seemingly over, Everett looks for where the detonator may have gone. And if he finds it, he is definitely NOT going to touch it. He's not a bomb specialist and has no idea what booby traps might be on the thing. Nope. Just stand there and make sure nobody ELSE touches the stupid thing. Breathing heavy, E puts his hands on the top of his head and starts looking around. "E'rybody aight?" he calls out.

As the situation seems to be deescalating, Calvin gets to his feet. He's shaken and looks confused. His color is absent, flesh is damp. "I'm going home. The police can call me later." He pauses and looks for Heather. "I'll get the guitar later, okay?" He starts to leave.

Edgar gets to his feet, and his brow furrows as he looks at Calvin. "I'll see you later, huh? Be safe." He brushes off his suit, and he shoots a glower at the guy trying to stab himself in the neck. He's got a New Yorker's empathy. Salvation didn't come? Walk it off, ya wuss. He comes over to Kate as she goes down. "Hey, are you okay?"

It wasn't the most graceful dive that has ever been witnessed, but the Stormtrooper manages to climb back to his feet around the same time as the bomber, shaking his head to clear the stars swimming around. He's off his game tonight, or maybe it's the stiff costume and booze in his system. Whatever the case, Julian is quick to his feet and even quicker to engaging the target again.

Empathy isn't much of a thing for a guy like Julian Walker, particularly when the aggressor is a suicide bomber. So while Katherine manages to get the knife out of the man's hands, Julian takes a much more aggressive approach. A right hook to the nose for a stun followed by a grapple that has the park ranger atop the man with his knee in his back is the only medicine Julian is interested in adminstering to the clearly disturbed individual.

"Call the police!" Julian rumbles, all professional and disconnected now as he goes through the motions. He does spare a glance up at Heather, his expression taking on more of an annoyed look rather than the frightened demeanor of most of the civilians in the room. "Why can't they just do like in highschool and write 'Heather is a slut' on the bathroom stalls?"

Meanwhile, he goes through the motions that nearly a decade of training saw him through several tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. Keeping the assailant subdued while searching his person for any further weapons.

So much for 'Sky Dorker'. The man has certainly filled out.

Katherine gets to her feet, clearly shaken as she nods toward Edgar. "I think so." She glances down at the butter knife in her hand, frowning before she tosses it to the ground. "Julian, you're fucking grounded." She grumbles, turning away from the bomber (I mean, he's taken care of now!) and begins to help people to their feet, gently asking if they're okay. With the help of her assistant, they start to escort people out, for their own safety, thanking them profusely for coming to the party. A few people seem excited, like maybe they thought the whole thing was a production. Nobody tells them different, they'll watch the news and see the truth.

Heather missed it all. So when she returns from packing Calvin's guitar away safely, she finds overturned tables, panicked faces, and Julian wondering about people calling her a slut. "What happened?" she asks the crowd of 'party' goers. "Umm…what is that guy wearing?" Her question directed at the man lying sprawled unconscious on the floor.

"I am!" Alison shouts back over the table as someone mentions calling the police. "What the hell is going on out there?" And then, between the shouting, her voice switches over to a softer volume, into the phone. "Oh, sorry, they're yelling, I'm not sure what the situation is, we were here for a party, and there was a man with something strapped on his chest, I think a couple of the other guests tackled him?"

Julian glances down at the man, maintaining his control over him and casually finishing the body search, coming up empty. "Oh, it's just a bomb vest." He remarks with the emotionlessness of a first responder. Pause. "It can't go off without the detonator, so don't freak out." He looks down at the semi-conscious assailant, then back up at Heather. "Fan of yours?"

When Katherine calls out to him, he glances back over his shoulder, his eyes suddenly widening as if he were about to ask after her welfare. "Have you seen my helmet?"

Julian will remain on scene until he is relieved by trained officers/swat and sticks around to assist in giving a full report.

The police arrive, and the bomber is taken away in short order. Katherine moves over to Julian, holding out a single key on a keyring. "This will get you in the B&B." She looks as if she has some internal conflict, and then she pokes Julian in the shoulder. "They're all gone, Julian. You remember that right? I don't think I could handle losing you too. So ..think about that before you jump in and attempt to get yourself blown up to help people." She leans down, picks up the helmet where it has fallen and shoves it into his arms. She leaves shortly after, taking the trail up the hill instead of walking the road.
